Down
by x underdog
Summary: Ron returns home after being away at an auror training school to discover a budding relationship between two people very close to him while he finds out the hard way that he and the girl he left behind have changed more than anyone thought.
1. Prologue

The Way Things Were  
  
Prologue  
  
A/N: This is the first fic I've ever published on a website before, so please review!  
  
The train rattled gently as it coasted across the countryside. Outside, the sky was inky black and the pale moon seemed to be the only light in the world. Other than the darkness, it was a warm night. Ron Weasley ran a trembling hand through his vivid auburn hair as the train rumbled toward the Burrow. He had been gone for two years, at a new school for auror training in Lyon. He had gotten his acceptance letter right after graduating from Hogwarts and had set off for France shortly after. He had said his goodbyes and all, but two years had been a long time.  
  
Ron was afraid to find our what he had missed. Harry had been offered a position on the Holyhead Harpies quidditch team as well as a rather good one in Canada, the last he'd heard. Hermione had been presented a job on the Committee on Experimental Charms as well as one as a Healer-in-training at St. Mungo's. Ginny had still been in Hogwarts when he'd left The Borrow, but she'd said something about teaching at Hogwarts or working with magical creatures like Charlie.  
  
Ron hoped more than anything that Hermione hadn't changed. It had been one of the hardest things he'd ever had to do, leaving her to go to the Innovative Auror Institute. But it had been she who'd suggested it as a career opportunity in the first place. She said she'd still be there when he got back…  
  
Why hadn't he just apparated home? Ron had originally wanted to travel by muggle transportation home as it would take longest, and he was nervous. Now he was having second thoughts. He wanted to get to the Burrow, walk up the stairs (did they still creak like they used to?) and fall into his warm bed and sleep through to the next day. It was very late, and he was exhausted. Too bad there were muggles on the train, or he would have apparated right then and there. For now, he would sleep uncomfortably in his seat until the train reached his stop and he would dream about how it used to be…  
  
******  
  
The old red picnic table sagged under the weight of the couple. Or at least, it used to be red. The paint had flaked off in so many places one could see the layers of blue, green, yellow, and an orange shade (with two black Cs linked in the center) that the table had been painted so many times before. Dark haired Harry was seated on it, his hands quite full, with Ginny Weasley straddling him, kissing him fiercely.   
  
Suddenly, a ginger haired head popped out of the back door of the Burrow.   
  
"Harry, where – oh!" gasped George. Fred, his twin, appeared behind him. Being the older brothers they were, both stepped outside into the warm night. Ginny and Harry broke away quickly. Ginny sighed with embarrassment and hung her head.  
  
"Sorry to – er – disturb you," said George, snickering.  
  
"We wanted to borrow your quidditch set, Harry. George and I were planning on going to visit some old friends in Reigate tomorrow and we wanted to bring it along to see if they were up for a game," Fred said.  
  
"How long will you be gone?" asked Harry, peering at them from behind Ginny.  
  
"Only two days or so," replied Fred.  
  
"Alright then," said Harry.   
  
"Excellent," said George.  
  
For a moment, Fred and George merely stood there, arms crossed, looking expectant.  
  
"Well?" said Harry exasperatedly.  
  
"Hm?" said Fred obliviously.  
  
"We were busy," said Harry.  
  
"But you're not now," said George.  
  
"Only because you're standing there, watching!" said Harry hopelessly.   
  
"So? It's our backyard too," said George critically.  
  
Harry wasn't sure what to say next. He didn't know if they were really serious or just joking. If they were kidding, they were some high-quality actors.  
  
"Fine, then no quidditch set," said Harry, as a last attempt.  
  
"Fine!" said Fred.   
  
The twins stood silently for a moment, glaring as though they were seven years old rather than twenty-one, while Harry pondered his next move. He was fairly sure they were only trying to annoy them or embarrass Ginny.  
  
"Ehh, nevermind," said Fred suddenly. "We really want the set."  
  
They grinned and headed back into the dark house. "Happy snogging!" said George cheerfully.  
  
Harry rolled his eyes and smiled slightly at their retreating figures. When the door snapped shut, Ginny looked up slowly.  
  
"Where were we now?" asked Harry.  
  
Ginny blushed and rested her head on Harry's shoulder. His hands were wrapped tightly around her waist to keep her from   
  
sliding off his lap. She reveled in the feeling of his arms around her. She'd wanted this for so long…  
  
Just less than a year ago, Harry had admitted that he liked her as more than a friend. Ginny had thrown her arms around him and positively sobbed into his chest. Harry had kissed her tears away, and ever since then, they'd been together. It had been like a dream come true for Ginny. She'd liked him since she was twelve. After Hogwarts, she swore to herself that she would stop drooling over Harry and she would actually get to know him. It was in this way that Harry was comfortable enough to confess his feelings for her.  
  
Harry himself was a first string seeker on the Grodzisk Goblins, the team that was once home to Josef Wronki, the best seeker ever. He teammates were some of his closest friends since Ron had left, though he still kept in touch with Hermione who visited the Burrow often.  
  
Harry had bought a house in Hogsmeade, but he was rarely there. The Burrow felt more like a home than anywhere else had and he was either there with Ginny or traveling with the team.   
  
Fred and George didn't live in the Burrow either. They had built a large room over their shop in Diagon Alley, where they stayed, though the majority of their time was spent at their joke shop or at the Burrow. Ginny was the only Weasley that still lived at home, though she would have a job at Hogwarts in the fall as a Junior Groundkeeper assisting Hagrid, and would be a substitute for the other teachers.   
  
Harry gently kissed Ginny's exposed neck and planted them all the way to her jaw as she straightened up. Upon reaching her lips, Harry whispered, "It's nearly midnight, Ginny…"  
  
Their lips met then, and when they pulled back, Ginny asked in a hushed voice, "Do you have to go?"  
  
"I should…"  
  
"But Harry you can't leave now," said Ginny convincingly.   
  
"No, and I'm not," he replied gently. "But soon…."  
  
As he trailed off, Ginny captured his lips with hers and she felt as though she would die if he ever left her side.  
  
******  
  
As Hermione entered the loud pub, she was hailed by a familiar face.  
  
"Hermione! Over here!" called Lavender Brown, her old Hogwarts roommate.  
  
Hermione pushed her way through the tables and chairs littered across the floor to reach the booth that Lavender shared with  
  
Parvati Patil. She slumped into the cushy seat as Lavender scooted over.  
  
"Long day at the office?" asked Parvati.  
  
"Incredibly long," said Hermione wearily.  
  
"I haven't seen you in The Three Broomsticks in a long time. Let me buy you a drink," Parvati said.  
  
Hermione grinned inwardly. Truly, the only reason she put up with Lavender and Parvati was so that they would buy her drinks. Hermione didn't even like to drink, but today had been a long one at the office. She allowed them to order her small glass of mulled mead, which she sipped gratefully. She had worked herself to the bone today; there was dozens of paperwork to be done in the process of making the Denuo Ortus Charm, one that could change any living thing back to its newly born state. A rather unimportant charm indeed, thought Hermione.   
  
Hermione had worked so hard because she wanted to be able to sleep that night. Molly Weasley had told her that Ron was coming home the next day, and she knew she wouldn't be able to doze off into her usual dreamless sleep with that on her mind. So, now Hermione was exhausted and she had a bit of alcohol in her system. She was sure would be able to sleep tonight, even though the thought of Ron coming home made her stomach clench unpleasantly.   
  
Hermoine wondered if he'd changed. Would he look the same? She hoped that his hair was the same; she loved his hair. What if he had forgotten her? What if he met another girl at his auror school? What if he had done both? What if he brought the girl home? Hermione tried to push the horrible thoughts out of her mind and ordered another glass of mead, just in case. 


	2. Revived Acquaintances

Chapter 1: Revived Acquaintances  
  
"Oh, come off it Hermione! N.E.W.T.s are ages away!" said Ron huffed impatiently as he dragged her by hand through the snow, the hems of their cloaks sopping wet and their socks drenched and freezing.  
  
"Ron, you know how important it is for me to pass if I want to work at the ministry -" she began in protest.  
  
"Really Hermione," said Ron. "Would you rather study or spend some quality and much needed alone time with your boyfriend?"  
  
"Oh Ron, you know I like to spend - time - with you, but this is my FUTURE!" she cried.  
  
"We're seventeen and I love you. Don't you think I'm in your future?" asked Ron hotly.  
  
"Of course Ron! I'm just so -" But what Hermione was exactly, Ron didn't wait to find out. They had reached the greenhouses, and he spun her around gently to face him, her back against the wall of Greenhouse Five.  
  
His faintly freckled hands moved from her shoulders to hold her hips affectionately. Hermione's felt suddenly winded, as she so often did in these situations with Ron. He gazed at her intensely with bright cobalt eyes, his brows furrowed as he studied her face. Hermione's eyes darted over his and she was in a state of pure enchantment as her stomach churned for that split second before he kissed her.  
  
Hermione's body was freezing from the weather, but it was on fire all the same. Ron had a way of making her forget about anything and everything else. How could he not realize this power he had over her? Nothing mattered now. It was only them...  
  
Ron pulled away and searched her eyes once more, his warm breath turning the bitter air to steam. Both were breathing heavily, and as Hermione's fingers crept up to his shoulders and down then up again across his chest, is was all Ron could do to stay still. Her cheeks flushed, her eyes a bottomless brown, Ron kissed her again, gently, his lips just grazing over hers.  
  
Hermione's eyes flickered shut on impulse, and as Ron held her closer she whispered, "You'll always be in my future."  
  
"Beg your pardon, sir, but, this is the end of the road." The conductor prodded Ron's shoulder. "Excuse me!?"  
  
Ron stirred in his seat and his eyes snapped open abruptly. "Sorry," he muttered. He gathered his luggage and stepped off the train, nearly tripping in his groggy condition.  
  
Once in the empty station, he set down his heavy suitcases for a moment to rest. One solitary person walked away in the opposite direction - otherwise he was alone.  
  
Ron picked up his belongings again and rushed to the men's bathroom. Once inside, he quickly Apparated to right outside the backdoor of the Burrow, where Fred and George had teased Harry and Ginny no more than a few hours ago.  
  
Ron glanced his wristwatch. The time was 7:48 A.M. If it was still a habit of hers, Ginny at least would be awake.  
  
He took a deep breath, ran a hand through his hair once more, back and forth to make the carrot-colored locks stand on end, then flattened it. Ron levitated his suitcases, and sent them through the door while he followed soundlessly behind.  
  
"Don't worry Harry! Ron isn't coming - "  
  
"Yes, he is! Your mum told me yesterday, he'll be here any minute!"  
  
"Oh really Harry. I think I'd know -- he's my brother!"  
  
Ron stepped through the dark and otherwise silent house to the front room where the voices came from; flowing though the house and breaking the tranquil quiet. As he stepped into the carpeted room, Harry and Ginny arguing on the couch became visible. Harry, who was facing the doorway in which Ron stood, broke out in a wide grin as he saw him.  
  
"You aren't that great of a sister then are you?" quipped Harry as he rose to greet Ron.  
  
Ginny, however whirled around and got there first. She flung herself at him wildly, nearly toppling him.  
  
"Oy Ginny, get off!" groaned Ron. "You're heavy!"  
  
Ginny glared at him jokingly. "Yes, well I'm two years older as well."  
  
Ron smiled warmly at her, and then turned to Harry.  
  
Harry heaved a deep sigh and said grinning, "It's great to see you again, mate."  
  
"And the same to you," replied Ron with a cordial nod.  
  
Ginny stood there for a moment, beaming at them both. Suddenly, as though she'd just realized where she was, she quickly offered to take Ron's suitcases upstairs.  
  
"You and Harry can catch up and have breakfast together," she said as she excused herself.  
  
Ron and Harry walked together into the kitchen.  
  
"What happened to your glasses?" asked Ron abruptly.  
  
"Don't need 'em," said Harry simply. "How was school?"  
  
"Well," said Ron. "You know how school is."  
  
They continued to talk and share stories of the past two years as they drank warm butterbeer. Harry spoke animatedly about his career in quidditch, and Ron about his grueling auror training as if nothing had changed. But much had. Harry told Ron nearly everything that had happened, everything except he and Ginny. Harry and Ginny hadn't talked about telling him and neither had time the past few weeks to discuss it in depth, so they simply chose to leave it unmentioned.  
  
"So how about you Harry, are you seeing anyone?" asked Ron.  
  
"Why - you interested?" said Harry teasingly.  
  
"Ha. Ha. You're avoiding me. I can tell," said Ron, eyes narrowed.  
  
"Thing is, mate - I haven't dated since Hogwarts," Harry said miserably, hoping he sounded convincing.  
  
"Oh.," said Ron. "Well, what about Hermione?"  
  
"What about her?"  
  
"Is she seeing anyone?" asked Ron, afraid of the answer.  
  
"Nope," said Harry. Ron grinned distinctly. "Do you still fancy her?"  
  
"Of course."  
  
At that moment, Ginny came bounding down the stairs. "Harry," she said breathlessly, "can I have a word real quick?"  
  
Harry nodded and Ginny led him upstairs.  
  
Ron sat quietly, alone at the kitchen table awaiting their return. Five minutes passed. then ten. then fifteen. When twenty minutes had gone by, Ron went upstairs to look for Harry and Ginny. He hadn't climbed the worn, stained and splintered stairs in quite a while.  
  
At the sixth step from the top, Ron paused. He shifted all his weight onto the step and the aged oak emitted a tell-tale groan. Ron smiled to himself. Yep. Still there.  
  
He climbed the rest of the steps and, upon reaching the top, he called out, "Harry.. Ginny.. what's going on?" As he moved down the hallway, he pushed open doors at random. His room was empty (it still looked the same) as was Fred and George's. Percy's room was vacant as well, but it looked much more lived in. Perhaps Harry had stayed there over the night. But why would he stay here? It was only Ginny. and they weren't that great of friends anyways.  
  
When he reached Ginny's room, he knew they must be in there. No noise came from the room. Ron gently pushed the door open, but as what lie behind came into view, he felt his throat tight tighten. He couldn't have made a sound if he'd wanted to.  
  
Ginny lay on her bed, with Harry above her on all fours. They were kissing - no, snogging - intensely. Harry had one arm beneath her, and the other was holding him up. His body dipped downward rhythmically as he kissed her, and slightly up again as they broke away. Ginny's small hands grasped his neck; ran themselves through his hair passionately. They continued in this way, until Harry removed his hand from her back and slowly let it run gently across her stomach beneath her shirt. Ginny let out a giggle as he kissed her further, and he smiled. His hand moved higher and higher still - until Ron refused to watch.  
  
He bolted through the hallway and tore down the stairs, nearly tripping in his haste. When he reached the first floor, he slowed to the front room and collapsed onto the couch. Harry and Ginny. he should have guessed. He let at a low chuckle at his stupidity as well as theirs. He guessed they had put a silencing charm around the room which was thoughtless, because they had forgotten to merely lock the door.  
  
Ten minutes later, Harry and Ginny showed up in the living room, both looking slightly dazed.  
  
"Sorry Ron. we didn't mean to take so -," said Harry.  
  
Ron was silent. ".You could have told me."  
  
"What?" asked Harry, trying to look confused.  
  
"Oh Ron, we were going to tell you. but you only just got home and we thought we'd wait a while." cried Ginny.  
  
"That wasn't the way I would have chosen for you to find out," said Harry solemnly, casting a side long glance at Ginny.  
  
Suddenly, Ron's hard, serious face was illuminated by a bright smile. "I was only joking. congratulations!"  
  
Ginny and Harry's faces softened a bit as well.  
  
"Next time though, take care to lock the door!" said Ron.  
  
******  
  
Hermione awoke with a start. She glanced at the clock, and groaned. Harry, Ginny and Ron were expecting her in twenty minutes. She hurried out of bed, showered, and dressed. She was picky in what she wore today, for she would see him, Ron, for the first time in two years. Twenty four months. One hundred and four weeks. Seven hundred and thirty days! She did the math quickly in her head. He'd been gone for so long. She had no idea where they stood anymore, after all she had only received two letters from him over the span of time he attended school.  
  
Hermione hurried into the small kitchen of her cheap flat. She fixed herself some tea, quickly downed it, then Apparated to Hogsmeade.  
  
The small town was bustling with people. The cobble-stoned streets were bulging with all sorts. Children of all ages darted in and out of Zonko's and every few minutes, the doors of the Three Broomsticks would burst forth, permitting another group of unusual people into the streets of Hogsmeade.  
  
Hermione checked her watch. she was just in time. She took in a quick lungful of air outside the doors of the Three Broomsticks, then heaved the doors open with all her might. As she stepped over the threshold, she found herself face to face with none other than Ron Weasley. 


End file.
